Marija Tresoglavic Acting Commission Secretary [email protected] bcuc.com
Suite 410, 900 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6Z 2N3 P: 604.660.4700 TF: 1.800.663.1385 F: 604.660.1102
AGM Submissions Request 1 of 1
June 1, 2020 Sent via email/eFile
FEI - 2019 CUSTOMER CHOICE AGM
EXHIBIT A-2
To: FortisBC Inc. Licensed Gas Marketers British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization Re: FortisBC Energy Inc. – 2019 Customer Choice Annual General Meeting – Request for Submissions By Order A-10-12, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) established the following regulatory process for the 2019 Customer Choice Program Annual General Meeting (AGM):
• FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) releases program statistics annually;
• BCUC staff canvass stakeholders about program issues to be addressed, if any, at the AGM; and
• the BCUC determines whether an AGM proceeding is warranted for the year.
On February 27, 2020, FEI submitted program statistics for the 2019 calendar year, in accordance with Order A-10-12. The BCUC is seeking comments on whether an AGM process is warranted this year, and if so, the proposed issues for discussion.
Enclosed, please find BCUC’s standard dispute and complaint statistics for the 2019 calendar year for your review. FortisBC Energy Inc.’s Customer Choice program statistics for the 2019 calendar year have been filed as Exhibit B-1 at the following link: B-1-FEI-2019-AGM-CustomerChoiceProgramStatistics.
Please file your submissions on whether an AGM process is warranted this year, and if so, proposed issues for discussion, to all above noted parties by June 12, 2020. As part of your submission, if an AGM process is warranted, please comment on whether an electronic meeting would be feasible.
Sincerely, Original Signed By: Marija Tresoglavic Acting Commission Secretary RQ/mp Enclosure
O V E R V I E W O F S TA N D A R D D I S P U T E S & C O M P L A I N T S F I L E D I N 2 0 1 9
CUSTOMER CHOICE:
May 29, 2020
STANDARD DISPUTES AND COMPLAINTS
• The BCUC has two processes for consumers who are concerned about a
contract with or the marketing activities of a Gas Marketer: the Dispute
Process and the Complaint Process:
• Generally, customers who have entered into an agreement with a
Gas Marketer follow the dispute process and consumers who have
not entered into an agreement with a Gas Marketer, but have a
concern about a Gas Marketer, follow the complaint process.
• The following slides present dispute and complaint data for the 2019
calendar year.
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
STANDARD DISPUTES AND OUTCOMES
3
Gross enrollments: 10,753
FEI Figure 3-2(total customers
signing contracts in 2019)
Active enrollments: 28,215
FEI Table 8-5(total customers enrolled with a gas
marketer as of December 31, 2019)
Total disputes filed: 106
DISPUTE OUTCOMES: OVERALL
26%(27 disputes)
74%(78 Disputes)
Dispute Outcome
Contract upheld (ruling for marketer)
Contract cancelled (ruling for customer)
Note: BCUC dispute statistics differ from FortisBC dispute
statistics for two reasons:
1. BCUC reports on dispute outcomes by dispute filed,
whereas FortisBC reports on dispute outcomes by month
the ruling was filed (i.e. the ruling is not necessarily tied to a
dispute filed in that month); and,
2. BCUC includes Non-GEM dispute data (disputes filed
directly with the Commission, not through FortisBC).
FortisBC does not have access to this data and thus does
not include it in their reporting.
4
DISPUTE OUTCOMES: A CLOSER LOOK
Contract Cancelled
(78 disputes)
82%(64 Disputes)
18% (14 Disputes)
Resolved between marketer and customer- contract cancelled
Adjudicated in favour of customer
Contract Upheld
(27 disputes)
Resolved between marketer and customer -contract upheld
Adjudicated in favour of marketer
11%(3 Disputes)
89%(24 Disputes)
5
REASON FOR DISPUTE
56%
21%
10%
6%
5% 3%
Reason for Dispute
Marketing
Invalid Contract
Cancellation
Exit Fees
Alleged Forgery
Renewal
6
Total – 78 Disputes
MOST COMMON REASONS FOR
DISPUTE: 2014-2019
Reasons
for
Dispute
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Most
common
Marketing Marketing Marketing Marketing Marketing
2nd most
common
Invalid contract Invalid
contract
Invalid contract Invalid contract Invalid contract
3rd most
common
Alleged forgery Cancellation Cancellation Cancellation Cancellation
7
MOST COMMON REASON FOR DISPUTE
• MARKETING (ALLEGED MISREPRESENTATION) – 62 DISPUTES
82% (51 Disputes)
15%(9 Disputes)
3%(2 Disputes)
Misrepresentation ofcontract rate
Misrepresentation ofmarketer's identity
Misrepresentation ofcontract term
Dispute filed on the basis of
(sub-reason):
Note: Percentages are calculated based on sub-
reason, e.g. 82% of marketing disputes are filed
due to alleged misrepresentation of the contract
rate.
8
MARKETING DISPUTES: OUTCOMES
29%(18 Contracts)
71%(44 Contracts)
Contract upheld
Contract cancelled
Detailed Outcome
3%
26%
58%
13%
Upheld - Resolved between marketer and customer
Upheld - Adjudicated in favour of marketer
Cancelled - Resolved between marketer and customer
Cancelled - Adjudicated in favour of customer
9
High-level Outcome
2ND MOST COMMON DISPUTE REASON
• INVALID CONTRACT – 18 DISPUTES
78%
5%
6%
11%
Disputes
Unauthorized signatureBusiness SoldGas Marketer SoldSpouse signed
Dispute filed on the basis of
(sub-reason):
10
INVALID CONTRACT DISPUTES:
OUTCOMES
11%(2 Contracts)
89%(16 Contracts)
Contract upheld
Contract cancelled
Detailed Outcome
11%
56%
33%
Upheld - Adjudicated in favour of marketer
Cancelled - Resolved between marketer and customer
Cancelled - Adjudicated in favour of customer
11
High-level Outcome
STANDARD DISPUTES BY RATE CLASS:
2015-2019
18% 13% 25% 27% 36%
82% 87%75% 73%
64%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Residential
Commercial
The graph below illustrates the proportion of total standard disputes filed
between 2015 and 2019 by residential vs. commercial customers:
12
DISPUTES BY YEAR CONTRACT SIGNED
2
7 6 3
3742
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Year disputed contract signed
Nu
mb
er
of
dis
pu
tes f
iled
in
2019
13
COMPLAINTS FILED IN 2019:
PRIMARY REASON FOR CANCELLATION
14
76%
24%
Reason for complaint
Misrepresentation
Salesperson Demeanor
Gross enrollments: 10,753
FEI Figure 3-2(total customers
signing contracts in 2019)
Active enrollments: 28,215
FEI Table 8-5(total customers enrolled with a gas
marketer as of December 31, 2019)
Total complaints filed:
37
TOP COMPLAINTS: OUTCOMES
15
Complaint Reason Complaint Outcome
Misrepresentation
(28 complaints)
▪ Provided information; customer had no further
questions/concerns (16)
▪ Marketer took corrective action with agent (6)
▪ Marketer cancelled contract (4)
▪ Cases still open (2)
Salesperson demeanor
(9 complaints)
▪ Provided information; customer had no further
questions/concerns (5)
▪ Marketer took corrective action with agent (4)
END
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